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“Hmph, drinking grape juice while looking down on the commoners is exceptional,”
Standing by the window on the top floor of a tower apartment, I gaze at the night view.
Of course, I am dressed in a bathrobe.
The vast twenty-tatami bedroom has nothing but a king-size bed, making it a barren space solely for sleeping. Such luxury for a room that serves only one purpose.
This is what the winners should be like… so they say.
“Are you satisfied, Mikishima -sama?”
“I get bored doing it every day.”
When I turn around, there’s Shukin, the butler and driver, with his head bowed near the door.
“If we’re just going through the motions, wouldn’t wine or brandy be better?”
“I don’t care for alcohol. I wouldn’t put that awful stuff in my mouth unless it’s for business purposes.”
But I have no choice but to drink it during dinner parties.
“I’ve come this far.”
As an idol and politician, I have achieved the glory that others envy.
However, my heart is still not satisfied.
“To think that my life, which was at rock bottom, could turn out this well.”
“Indeed. Those from the muddy stream were treated like slaves… no, like livestock.”
Shukin, like me, also came from the muddy stream, but he was driven out of the village and ordered to live in another village.
That village was formed by people like us who were cast out from the main stream. In the main stream, we could never rebel or express our opinions, but only obey.
My debut as an idol was not my own decision. I was simply ordered by the people in the main stream because I happened to have a good-looking face.
Becoming a celebrity made it easier for me to gather information and increase my connections. With the help of powerful people connected to the village, I was able to manipulate my popularity as I pleased. My songs became hits, and my dramas and movies became topics of discussion.
In that flow, I also became famous as a politician, and my life seemed to be sailing smoothly – at least on the surface.
“Did you have any hesitation in giving up your current life?”
“I’ve said it many times. Not a shred of hesitation.”
I was tired of living a life forced onto the rails laid out before me. As a result, I let out the passion I had been hiding for a long time, and that’s all there is to it.
“In the village, I was like a servant. I served the main family of the mainstream every day.”
“Weren’t you in charge of the archives for one of the families?”
“That’s right. I had an important role in overseeing everything, including the historical books related to the Nanakagami family, books collected from Japan and various countries, as well as various research and experimental results.”
As the person in charge of cleaning the mansion, I was the only one from the impure stream who was allowed to enter the library. However, I was so busy cleaning the enormous library that I didn’t have time to read any of the books.
One day, I was ordered to save the contents of one of the library books as a digital file on a computer, even though it was considered a valuable item that only the pure stream was allowed to access. The reason I was assigned to this task was because of the foolish son of the family I served.
The son was infamous for being arrogant and irresponsible, despite having a talented parent. He was a prominent example of how the child of a hero is not always a hero himself. He delegated all of his work to me.
Thanks to that, I was able to read valuable books without being blamed.
The history of the clan. All sorts of experimental contents and results. Contracts for shady backdoor deals. Suspicious rituals. Magic books. I learned about all of it.
“I was ecstatic. The knowledge and information that were concealed by the clan became mine. Using that knowledge and information, I embezzled money and developed zombie powder in the village while pretending to be obedient and consolidating my position as a politician.”
“And then, you burned the people of the village who were no longer useful.”
He talked about it as if it had nothing to do with him, but Shukin was also involved in the fire.
He led the villagers and gave instructions, not me.
“The oppressed people of the muddy stream sided with us.”
“Everyone was tired of the current situation. It was easy to incite them. I also used that thing.”
“Ale” refers to a failed product produced during the process of making zombie powder.
It was a drug that excited people and drove them insane, even though they would have obeyed without it. It was also used for clinical trials.
The researcher who took charge of developing the drug was Shukin.
“As for Tsu-sama, it was a pity.”
“Yeah. I thought he had the same ambition as us.”
Tsu was my best friend.
We were two individuals from different backgrounds; one from the muddy stream and the other from the main stream, who would not have interacted under normal circumstances.
However, with his unconventional nature, he disregarded social status and took a liking to me, eventually leading us to become close friends.
We maintained a formal demeanor in public, but when alone, we addressed each other informally and spent carefree hours playing until sunset.
Our relationship remained the same as we grew from boys to young adults, though our conversations transitioned from childish to adult-like topics.
While I freely conveyed the dissatisfaction and concerns of the Muddy Stream, my friend, Tsu, worked tirelessly to improve the wrongdoings of the village.
We would frequently share our opinions and ideas, which occasionally led to disagreements, but our friendship never faltered.
Until that day.
The decision was made by the elderly in the village to eliminate Tsu, who had been trying to bring about reforms in the village. The foolish elders appointed me as the executor of their plan.
They believed that I was obedient and would not rebel, and completely trusted me. I couldn’t help but laugh at their naivety.
Using their trust to my advantage, I drugged the villagers and then set fire to the village, taking away their physical freedom to resist.
It was a beautiful flame.
People writhing and dancing as they burned.
When the elders realized that it was my doing and began to cry out in resentment.
For me, it was a feeling of purging all the hatred and jealousy.